Titus Ebenezer Kwofie

A critical success model for PPP public housing delivery in Ghana

Purpose – The nature and characteristics of critical success factors (CSFs) that influence success on public private partnership (PPP) arrangements on different project typologies vary between countries and regions. Studies confirm the lack of success on PPP approach on public housing project (PHP). The main challenge to PPP-PHP success has been identifying, analysing, categorizing and matching CSFs that are likely to influence the PPP-PHP outcome. The purpose of this paper is to identify the CSFs that influence PPP-PHP delivery in Ghana. This is premised on the theoretical implications that understanding the factors that influence the success on PPP-PHP projects is critical. Design/methodology/approach – By adopting a 16 CSFs from literature and using a questionnaire survey, the factors that are critical to success on PPP-PHP approach in Ghana were identified. The questionnaires were administered on participants that have been involved in PPP-PHPs in Ghana. Findings – The results revealed six CSFs that a...

Factors contributing towards the effectiveness of construction project teams

The team approach to project delivery has in recent times become predominant and a viable means of meeting client expectations in the construction industry. Hence, evaluating the effectiveness of a project team is considered critical for superior team performance in project delivery. However, there is lack of consensus on the factors contributing to team effectiveness globally. It is affirmed that knowledge of the factors contributing to team effectiveness is imperative and crucial to the success of construction projects and the industry at large. This study seeks to identify the critical factors contributing to the effectiveness of project teams in the Ghanaian construction industry. Stepwise multiple regression analysis revealed five critical factors that show a significant relation with the effectiveness of project teams. The findings are useful for setting a benchmark framework for evaluating team effectiveness and team building in the construction industry in Ghana and other developing countries.

Identification and Classification of the Unique Features of Mass Housing Projects

Mass housing projects (MHPs) are said to differ significantly from the “one-off” traditional building projects often encountered in the construction industry and thus require unique management skills and approach in MHPs delivery. This unique nature of MHPs contributes to managerial inefficiencies that result in delivery failures when management approaches are not adapted to the project characteristics. However, understanding and knowledge of the unique attributes of MHPs are critical towards improving the organisation, planning, managerial effectiveness, and delivery success of mass housing projects. To date, extensive studies establishing the unique features of mass housing projects are lacking. This study is set out to identify what constitutes the unique features of mass housing projects by comparing mass housing projects to traditional “one-off” building projects. A questionnaire survey was used to establish mass housing practitioners’ perception of the unique characteristics of MHPs. Data analysis involving mean scores and ANOVA revealed 10 unique features of MHP. A clear and systematic understanding of these unique features of MHPs is crucial for evolving effective project management practices and critical competencies towards successful delivery of current and future MHPs.

Principal component analysis of professional competencies of architects in the Ghanaian construction industry

Purpose The identification and development of appropriate competencies remain very critical and central to performance measures in mainstream human resource management genre towards effective teams. It is posited as a viable means for validating and engendering best practices and developing suitable competencies towards acceptable performance outcome in construction project delivery. The purpose of this paper is to identify the critical professional competencies of an architect in the Ghanaian construction industry (GCI) towards effective performance in the construction project delivery. Design/methodology/approach From a mixed method design involving semi-structured qualitative interview and a questionnaire survey of architects in Ghana, 16 professional architectural competencies were identified for respondents to indicate their importance to effective architectural practice and consulting in the GCI on a five-point Likert scale. Factor analysis was used to explore the interrelations among the variables and make possible empirical explanations. Findings Factor analysis revealed four underlying clusters named in order of their significance as efficient design response to client needs, legal aspects of practice, sustainable design and construction and efficient project management skills. The study provides insight into the contextual practice, characteristics and the critical professional architectural competencies needed by architects in the construction industry in Ghana. Originality/value The findings have rigorously revealed and provided clear understanding and insight into the thematic critical professional competencies of architects important to the construction industry in Ghana which should be the focus of architectural training and practice. It is also very important towards developing and stimulating a continuous professional development agenda, developing a body of knowledge of professional practice in architecture and conducting curriculum review to meet current emerging competency profiles necessary for influencing performance levels in the GCI.

Benefits of e-governance implementation in physical infrastructure development at the local government level

The digital age has brought about a paradigm shift of information and data processing all over the world and Ghana has had its fair share of this development. Many systems and strategies have been implemented towards improving development of infrastructure at the local government level in Ghana. E-governance is one of such systems which has been initiated towards improvement and effective management of the various assemblies. This paper is aimed at assessing the benefits of e-governance at the local government level in Ghana using Ashanti Region as a case study. Using both the qualitative and quantitative approach to data gathering, it was revealed that e-government is beneficial not only to the government but also to citizens, businesses and employees as well. Among the benefits noted include convenience, cost effectiveness, easy access to data/information, and improvement in internal efficiency, improvement in local democracy and improvement in information for growth of local economy and better external relations.

Contribution of multiple construction site management features to project team communication effectiveness: the case of mass housing projects

Studies have indicated that mass housing projects (MHPs) possess unique multiple site management features (MCS) that significantly induce communication challenges among the project team in its delivery. However, the paucity in these studies is the failure to determine the extent and nature of the communication challenges and ineffectiveness that are inherent in the multiple site management features of MHPs. Through the use of structured questionnaire survey, this study used structural equation modelling to determine the nature and extent of the contribution of the MCS features of MHPs to communication performance among the MHP team. The results showed that the MCS features of MHPs significantly induce both information flow and information composition communication ineffectiveness. The results further revealed misunderstanding, inaccuracies, distorted communication and difficulty in communication dissemination as the dominant inherent MCS communication ineffectiveness among MHP teams. The findings provide ...

Theoretical and practical implications for engendering project team communication effectiveness in mass housing project delivery in Ghana

Purpose Communication ineffectiveness inherent in the unique attributes of Mass Housing Project (MHP) features is well admitted in the body of literature. However, the understanding of the extent and nature of this influence of the unique features of MHPs requires an empirical insight. The aim of this paper is to identify the communication ineffectiveness induced by the unique features and delineate the implications of the findings for mass housing practitioners and stakeholders towards engendering effective communication performance. Design/methodology/approach Through a structured questionnaire survey, data were elicited from mass housing stakeholders and project team leaders. The data were subsequently analysed using structural equation modelling, and the communication effectiveness evaluation model was developed. Subsequently, the model was validated through a questionnaire survey on ten experienced mass housing practitioners, researchers and stakeholders. Findings The results revealed significant, moderate and weak effects of the unique features of MHP team communication performance. This suggests that the unique features of MHPs have varying degree of influence on the communication performance among project teams’ delivery. The findings provide practical, empirical insights and understanding into the inherent communication ineffectiveness on MHPs, and thus are very useful in communication management and planning in MHP’s delivery. Originality/value Against the backdrop of the need to gain an in-depth understanding of the inherent communication challenges towards improving communication performance in MHP delivery, the findings have rigorously revealed and provided clear insight into the nature of communication ineffectiveness inherent in the unique features of MHPs. The findings and insights provided by this study are thus useful for aligning communication management planning and strategies to the unique MHP environment to engender communication success. Practitioners can also use these findings towards the development of their communication behavioural skills and communication infrastructure for MHP delivery.

Critical Professional Competencies of Architects in the Ghanaian Construction Industry

The identification and development of appropriate competencies remain very critical and central to performance measures in mainstream human resource management genre towards effective teams. It is posited as a viable means for validating and engendering best practices and developing suitable competencies towards acceptable performance outcome in construction project delivery. The objective of this study was to identify the critical professional competencies of the architect in the Ghanaian construction industry (GCI) towards effective performance in the construction project delivery. From a mixed method design involving semi-structured qualitative interview and a questionnaire survey of architects in Ghana, 16 professional architectural competencies were identified for respondents to indicate their importance to effective architectural practice and consulting in the GCI on a five point Likert scale. Factor analysis was used to explore the interrelations among the variables and make possible empirical explanations. Factor analysis revealed four underlying clusters named in order of their significance as Efficient Design Response to Client Needs; Legal Aspects of Practice; Sustainable Design and Construction and Efficient Project Management Skills. The study provides insight into the contextual practice, characteristics and the critical professional architectural competencies needed by architects in the construction industry in Ghana. The findings have rigorously revealed and provided clear understanding and insight into the thematic critical professional competencies of architects important to the construction industry in Ghana which should be the focus of architectural training and practice. It is also very important towards developing and stimulating a continuous professional development agenda, developing a body of knowledge of professional practice in architecture, and conducting curriculum review to meet current emerging competency profiles necessary for influencing performance levels in the GCI.

Nature of Communication Ineffectiveness Inherent in the Procurement Systems on Mass Housing Projects

Mass housing projects (MHPs) are deemed to exhibit unique procurement systems which consequently induce communication ineffectiveness that continues to dominate the challenges among mass housing project teams. However, this acknowledged communication ineffectiveness inherent in the unique procurement system features of mass housing project among the project team remains to be empirically examined. This study seeks to investigate the influence of procurement system (PS) features of MHPs to communication ineffectiveness among the mass housing project team. By adopting a quantitative method design, a structured questionnaire survey on project team leaders managing MHPs in Ghana was used in collecting empirical data. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to explore the communication problems inherent in the PS features of mass housing projects. The results revealed moderate to high effects of communication ineffectiveness in information flow and information composition inherent in the unique PS features of MHPs. The results further revealed misunderstanding, inaccuracies, barriers, and information dissemination challenges as the major communication ineffectiveness induced by the PS features of MHPs. By gaining knowledge and understanding into the communication ineffectiveness associated with these features of MHPs, practitioners are well positioned to plan communication and management strategies to engender success in mass housing delivery.

Investigating the Underlining Factors of Critical Project Success Criteria for Public Housing Delivery in Ghana

Public housing supply remains one of the least given attention in Ghana over the past three decades. Successive Public Housing Building Projects (PHBPs) attempts have been unsuccessful due to a number of reasons. Among these is the lack of clearly defined success criteria which guides and measures PHBP success. The adoption and application of critical success criteria (CSC) is to deliver project successfully, attain enhanced output, develop framework to help track key project results and to enable the appropriate allocation of resources. This research seeks to establish what constitute critical success criteria for PHBPs in Ghana and investigate and reveal the unique underlining factors among them through a questionnaire survey. Factor analysis was conducted on the responses on 13-identified criteria to reveal and discuss their underlining characteristics. The result revealed four components in order of significance as ‘Time, Cost and Quality Management’,‘ Satisfaction, Health and Environmental Safety’, ‘User Affordability and Design Consideration’ and ‘Cost of Individual Units and Technology’. This outcome will enable Project Managers (PM) and stakeholders involved in PHBPs to channel appropriate efforts and behaviours towards ensuring the attainment of success and also help in formulating policies and developing frameworks towards successful PHBPs delivery.